1K Club: Uniontown’s Braxton scores 24 to reach milestone in win over AG
There was a burst of mixed emotions on more than one front when Uniontown senior Jamire Braxton scored on a smooth drive to the basket early in the fourth quarter Friday night.
The two points put Braxton at 1,000 for his high school career and he went on to drop in a game-high 24 points in the Red Raiders鈥� 89-63 win over Albert Gallatin in their Section 3-AAAA boys basketball game at A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what to do at first,鈥� Braxton said of how he felt when he sank the shot for 1,000. 鈥淚 was excited and I was nervous and then I was ready to cry.
鈥淏ut it was definitely joyful.鈥�
After being congratulated for his milestone by Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky, the rest of the Red Raiders coaching staff and his teammates, Braxton went over to the Colonials鈥� bench, escorted by Kezmarsky, and shared a hug with AG coach Shea Fleenor.
Braxton played at Albert Gallatin his freshman and sophomore seasons before transferring back to his former school district for his junior and senior years.
鈥淔or him to have enough respect to come over to me and want me to be a part of that moment with him speaks volumes about that kid,鈥� Fleenor said. 鈥淵ou know you鈥檙e in the heat of battle and then the next thing you know one of your opponents is coming over and you鈥檙e hugging him. But I have a soft spot for Jamire. It was nice to share that moment with him.
鈥淚f it was going to happen I kind of like that it was against us just because of the history. Congratulations to him. I鈥檓 proud of him.鈥�
Kezmarsky commended Braxton also.
鈥淛amire does a great job. We鈥檙e so proud for him and happy for him,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淚 had Jamire in sixth grade when I was his teacher at Lafayette and you could tell back then he is just a wonderful kid. He works so hard. This offseason he dedicated himself, he got his body in shape, he worked out and he continues to work out. He deserves this.
鈥淎nd really I think his teammates wanted it for him just as much as he did. It just shows you the type of kids we have.鈥�
Submitted photoUniontown senior Jamire Braxton (left) poses for a photo with Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky while they hold a banner commemorating Braxton鈥檚 1,000th career point which he scored against Albert Gallatin on Friday night.
Braxton became the second Uniontown player this season to notch his 1,000th career point, joining junior teammate Notorious Grooms who hit the milestone exactly three weeks earlier on the same floor in a 91-61 win over Belle Vernon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great accomplishment for him and he earned it,鈥� Grooms said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of him. He worked hard.
鈥淲e had a dream when we were younger, me, Jamire and Calvin (Winfrey III), how we all wanted to be on that 1,000-point scoring banner and now it鈥檚 happened for two of us and Calvin will get there, too.鈥�
Winfrey, a junior who is also on track to hit the 1,000-point mark either late this season or early in his senior year, was held out of Friday鈥檚 game as he continues his recovery from a sprained ankle.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to get him 100 percent,鈥� Kezmarsky said of his starting point guard. 鈥淗e鈥檚 close.鈥�
Following Braxton in the Uniontown scoring column against AG was Grooms and Kelan Milsom with 17 points and two 3-pointers apiece and Jeremiah Hager with 15 points.
鈥淛eremiah does so much for us and Kelan has done a great job when we鈥檝e asked him to come in and start like tonight and Eric Townsend gave us some quality minutes,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淲e got to get some seniors in there at the end like Nick Torbich and Marcus Hice, too, which was nice.鈥�
The Colonials were led by Blake White with 22 points and Mykel Belt with 15 points. Albert Gallatin also got nine points from Shymere Wilson and eight points from J.J. Jackson.
鈥淏lake鈥檚 been scoring a lot lately,鈥� Fleenor said. 鈥淧rior to tonight he had two 25-point games and a 23-point game. He鈥檚 really been filling it up. Mykel鈥檚 been doing a really good job and Shymere Wilson鈥檚 been playing well although he struggled a little bit tonight.鈥�
Uniontown was coming off its first loss of the season on Tuesday when it fell to South Allegheny, 54-44, in a non-section game, thanks in large part to a one-for-17 performance from 3-point range.
鈥淲e had great practices on Wednesday and Thursday and were working really hard,鈥� Braxton said. 鈥淲e got our energy back and played better as a team.鈥�
Kezmarsky put Tuesday鈥檚 loss in perspective.
鈥淲e played a really good 4A team, South Allegheny, which beat the first-place team in their section, Avonworth, last night,鈥� Kezmarsky pointed out. 鈥淲e played Monday night against Southmoreland and had a really big section win and it鈥檚 hard to play back-to-back but no excuses. There鈥檚 a difference between exhibition games and section games to us though, and right now we鈥檙e 6-0 in the section with four to play, so we鈥檙e excited.鈥�
Uniontown had another challenging non-section game scheduled for Saturday against Baldwin at the PBC Hall of Fame Classic at North Hills
鈥淧eople were talking about Baldwin, Baldwin, Baldwin on Saturday but we were concentrating on AG,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a section game. We want to win that 51st section title.鈥�
The Red Raiders (6-0, 15-1) hold a two-game lead over Belle Vernon in the section standings.
Albert Gallatin (2-4, 6-8) is in the hunt for the postseason also, sitting just one game behind Southmoreland and Elizabeth Forward who are tied for third place. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs..
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that anybody in the section is going to beat Uniontown,鈥� Fleenor said. 鈥淭he focal point is the rest of the section. We have a leg up on Belle Vernon (AG won at home against the Leopards, 70-67, on Jan. 11). We鈥檙e still right there with a chance to make the playoffs.鈥�
The Colonials fought hard in a first quarter that had six early lead changes. After AG grabbed a 9-8 advantage on a basket by White, the Red Raiders closed the quarter on a 14-2 run to go up 22-11.
Uniontown led 44-31 at halftime then pushed the margin up to 26, 71-45, at the end of three quarters. The Red Raiders took their biggest lead of 82-51 early in the fourth quarter after a dunk by K鈥橝drian McLee and Braxton鈥檚 final bucket of the night.
Fleenor reflected on Braxton鈥檚 time at AG.
鈥淲e had him for two years and that last year for us he averaged about 19 (points) and 9 (rebounds),鈥� Fleenor said. 鈥淗e had a really great year.
鈥淣o disrespect to anyone else on their team, but I think he鈥檚 their best player overall. I have a lot of respect for Jamire. I think he鈥檚 a very, very talented player who鈥檚 put a lot of work into his game and the results show.鈥�
Fleenor was pleased with his own players鈥� effort against Uniontown.
鈥淚 thought we battled good for a while and then we kind of lost our way,鈥� Fleenor said. 鈥淭he one thing about this group all season, I don鈥檛 fault their effort ever. They play hard. They don鈥檛 give up. They battle. They don鈥檛 always make the right play but I don鈥檛 question their heart.鈥�
Kezmarsky praised the Colonials.
鈥淎G has improved since the last time we played them,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淐oach Fleenor does a great job with them. They were well prepared tonight. AG鈥檚 got some wonderful kids that play hard. They鈥檙e battling for a playoff spot and we wish them nothing but the best.鈥�
The game drew another large crowd at Uniontown.
鈥淣ight鈥檚 like this are good for Fayette County basketball,鈥� Kezmarsky said.
Braxton lauded both his current coach and former coach after the game.
鈥淚 wanted to go over and thank Coach Fleenor because he helped build me into the player I am now,鈥� Braxton said. 鈥淎nd the whole Uniontown coaching staff are like my fathers, I love each and every one of them, especially Coach K. He puts his time, his heart, his blood, sweat and tears, everything into us. If it wasn鈥檛 for him, we wouldn鈥檛 be here as a team.鈥�
Braxton added an extra bit of trivia to his milestone.
鈥淚鈥檓 the first Braxton out of my family to ever do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淪coring 1,000 is a big achievement for me and my family.鈥�
Braxton, as Grooms said also after scoring his 1,000th point, is now ready to move on.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great accomplishment but now it鈥檚 time to look forward. We want to win another section and go to the Pete (Petersen Events Center, site of the WPIAL championships) and go to Hershey,鈥� Braxton said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we鈥檙e all aiming for, step by step.鈥�